PROCEEDINGS OF THE PUBLIC HEARING MEETING HELD ON 29.09.2009 (11.00 AM) AT BHAGALPUR VILLAGE IN KEONJHAR DISTRICT IN RESPECT OF EXPANSION PROJECT OF M/s CRACKERS INDIA (ALLOYS) LTD FROM EXISTING SPONGE IRON PLANT TO INTEGRATED STEEL PLANT OF 1.0 MTPA AND CPP (WHRB 32 MW + AFBC 22 MW) OF 54 MW AT GOBARDHANPUR, KEONJHAR. The public hearing in respect of expansion project proposed by M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Ltd for expansion of existing sponge iron plant of 60,000 TPA to Integrated Steel Plant of 1.0 MTPA and CPP (WHRB 32 MW + AFBC 22 MW) of 54 MW at Gobardhanpur in the district of Keonjhar was held on scheduled date & time at Bhagalpur Village under Joda P.S, Dist. Keonjhar with reference to I. EIA Notification S.O 1533 (E) Dtd. 14.09.2006 II. Interim Operational Guidelines till 13 th September 2007 in respect of applications made under EIA-1994 The panel consisted of the following members: 1. Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung. OAS (1) S.B, Additional District Magistrate, Keonjhar. 2. Sri Niranjan Mallick, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Keonjhar. Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung, Additional District Magistrate, Keonjhar supervised & presided over the public hearing process, assisted by Sri N. Mallick, Regional officer, State Pollution Control Board, Keonjhar, the representative of State Pollution Control Board, Orissa Bhubaneswar. At the outset Sri N. Mallick, Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Keonjhar welcomed the panel member and the assembled public and the media. Then he gave a brief introduction about the guidelines to be followed for the public hearing in the light of EIA Notifications 2006, and interim operational guidelines till 13 th September 2007 in respect of expansion project proposed by M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Ltd for expansion of existing sponge iron plant of 60,000 TPA to Integrated Steel Plant of 1.0 MTPA and CPP (WHRB 32 MW + AFBC 22 MW) of 54MW at Gobardhanpur in the district of Keonjhar. Welcoming the public the ADM, Keonjhar explained that, views, comments, objections and opinions of the public is necessary while considering the environmental clearance of the project. He advised the project proponent to make a brief presentation about various aspects of the expansion project to be undertaken for better awareness of the public. Mr. Srinivas Sahoo, Managing Director of M/s Cracker India (Alloys) Limited welcomed the gathering for attending the public hearing and after that Mr. Manoj Kumar Behera, Liaisoning Officer of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Limited addressed the committee members and assembled public and made a brief presentation about salient features of the proposed expansion project, environmental management, pollution control measures, waste management, afforestation programme and various other peripheral development activities envisaged in the proposed project. Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung, Additional District Magistrate, Keonjhar then invited the public to present their views about the proposed expansion project on environmental considerations only.
The views expressed by various speakers are as follows: 1. Sri Sukalal Munda, Naib Sarpanch, Beleipada. He wholeheartedly supported this expansion proposal and while welcoming the expansion proposal of M/s. Crackers India (Alloys) Limited, he requested the management to look after the following demands: 1. Preference to be given to local people during employment as per their eligibility. 2. Financial help to needy, poor and distressed local people. 3. A part of the profit of this plant has to be used for development of the local surrounding villages. 4. More plantations have to be done to minimise the pollution. 5. To adopt adequate steps towards protection of Balita Nalla and not to dump any waste material in the Balita Nalla. 6. To provide all sorts of help for upgrading the educational standards of the local schools. 7. Electrification of all the surrounding villages. 2. Sri Chittaranjan Naik, Deojhar He expressed his views in favour of the proposal. He expects that management will follow all the steps to minimise the pollution as they have mentioned in their representation which may be created due to this plant. Like his previous speaker, he is also concerned about the protection of Balita Nalla and requested the management not to pollute it with wastes generated from the plant, since a large number of local people depend on it. He told that it is an adivasi and hilly backward area hence he urged the management to pay attention to the following demands: 1. To give preference to local people during employment as per their eligibility. 2. As per him Deojhar and Birkala villages will also be affected due to this plant, hence developmental works also has to be carried out in both the villages with the cooperation of local villagers. 3. Construction of blacktop connecting roads to minimise the dust pollution. 4. Regarding education he informed that no educational facilities are available in the local schools, hence he requested the management to provide all sorts of help for improving the educational standards of these schools. 5. Renovation and protection of Dam in the Balita Nalla. 6. For irrigation canal has to be formed. 7. Construction and establishment of ITI like Vocational Training centre in the area. This can be constructed along with other Mine Owner, Industrialist of the area so that local person can get technical education here and able to get employment in the plant after successful completion of their training. He expects that management will take this on priority. At the end he told that the Managing Director of this Company is a young and Local Oriya entrepreneur, hence all should support this expansion proposal.
3. Sri Baidhar Naik, Balita. While speaking in favour of the proposal, he told that five things i.e. water, food, cloth, shelter and education is required for survival of a man. Hence he requested the management to look after the above said requirements of the local people. Regarding employment to local people, he urged the management to give first priority to those who have lost their land due to this project. He also suggested to carry out more developmental works in the surrounding villages and for this they may send their representative to nearby villages to meet the local persons or committee to know about their problems and requirements. 4. Sri Sanatan Naik, Bhagalpur. He welcomed this expansion proposal of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Pvt Ltd. However he told that management to follow the rehabilitation rules of Govt and compensation has to be paid to land losers as per the Govt rules. He told that Crackers India has made electrification in their village but he requested the management to construct family quarters for the old and unmarried girls who are above the age of 30 yrs. He urged the management to give employment to the local people as per their eligibility and also wanted commitment from Management towards employment of their son after their retirement since they have lost their land for this project and there is no other source of income here rather than agriculture and mining. He urged the management to provide bore wells in every nearby villages for drinking water, since it is a hilly area and there is always scarcity of drinking water. At the end he reiterated his support for this expansion proposal. 5. Sri Chhotaray Das, Gobardhanpur. He opined in favour of the proposal as due to this plant a lot of local people will get employment here and will be able to maintain their livelihood. However during his deliberation he told that definitely there would be some adverse effect on the environment due to this integrated steel plant but he expects that management will follow all the measures to minimise it as they have mentioned in their representation. He also requested the SPCB officials to look into the pollution related issues and advise the management for implementation, so that this adverse effect can be minimised to a large extent. He urged the management to pay attention to following demands: a. 90% employment to local people. b. To provide all sorts of help to improve the educational standards of the village schools so that they can also compete with others. c. Establishment of a Vocational Training centre in the area so that unskilled employees can be trained to a skilled one. 6. Sri Kalicharan Munda, Sialjoda. He told the gathering that they have no objection for this expansion proposal, however he requested the management to sign one Agreement with the land looser committee before acquisition of land for this project. He also urged to protect the Balita Nalla from being polluted since most of the villagers are depended on it. He also requested to pay special attention for improving the educational standards of the schools and towards this they demanded appointment of teachers in the schools.
7. Sri Kalakar Naik, Joda During his deliberation he told that all of us are now concerned about protection of our environment and we should not tell only to mine owner or Company, it is responsibility of each one of us. However he requested the management for desiltation and protection of Balita nalla from being polluted since it is a perennial source of water and number of people depends on it. He requested the management to look after the followings: a. Formation of green belt area by way of sufficient plantation in and around the mines to minimise the air pollution. b. To provide one ambulance for local people. c. Construction of Black top roads to minimise the pollution. d. To do more peripheral developmental works in the nearby villages particularly in those villages which are most affected. At the end he told that they all should support industrialization which is required for development of any area and nation and requested the Govt officials to recommend for immediate grant of environmental clearance for this project. 8. Sri Giridhari Naik, Kandra, Ex-Chairman, Joda Block. He whole heartedly supported this expansion proposal of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Limited. He told that due to opening of this plant directly or indirectly a lot of local people will be benefited. He also told that they all should be proud of that MD of this company is a local oriya people and he expects that he will definitely look for the development of this area. Hence all of them should support him whole heartedly. 9. Sri Nirmal Kumar Mohanta. Lahanda. While expressing his views in favour of the proposal, he thanked the management for bringing such a project in this area. However he requested the management to pay special attention for protection of environment and to pay good compensation to land looser whose land will be acquired for this project. He also requested management to give preference to local people during employment and very particularly to those who have lost their land due to this project. He also urged the management for supply of drinking water in the nearby villages and to provide all sorts of help for uplifting the educational standards of village schools. 10. Sri Reena Barik, Vice President, Zilla Parishad. Keonjhar She expressed her views in favour of the expansion proposal of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Limited. She told that due to opening of this plant, directly or indirectly a lot of people will be benefited. Apart from that she told that protection of environment is the responsibility of all of us but responsibility of Govt officials are more than that of general public. She informed the gathering that 65% people of this area are under BPL category. Hence education system has to be improved so that our future generation can compete with others and able to get employment elsewhere instead of remain dependent on the mine. She is fully agreed with her previous speakers regarding opening of one Vocational Training centre here so that local unemployed and illiterate people get training here and become a skilled worker. She requested the management for the followings:
a. Construction of boundary wall for Bhagalpur UGM School. b. Supply of drinking waters through pipe line in Bhagalpur, Balita and Sialjoda villages since the water level is decreasing day by day. c. Protection of Balita Nalla since most of the villagers is depended on it. d. Renovation of Canal on Balita Dam. e. Women tailoring centre has to be continued. f. To provide all support to different Self Help Group for all round development of the area. 11. Sri Gopinath Naik, Bhagalpur He gave his mixed reaction about the expansion proposal. He told that instead of being a resident of Bhagalpur villages till now they are unaware of the land acquisition plan of the Management for this project. He requested the management to immediately inform them which land they want to acquire for this project whether it is an agricultural land or some of the residential area. He agreed with the fact that due to industrialization development of this area will be possible but simultaneously he is concerned about the pollution which will be created due to this proposed plant. Hence he requested the management to look after the protection of the environment and they should take all the steps to minimise it. He told that they have no objection if the Company fulfils the following demands: a. To give proper compensation to land loser as per Govt rules. b. To give employment to local people and priority should be given to those who have lost more than 5 decimal lands for this project. c. To look after the development of agriculture in this area and to provide all sorts of help for the same. d. Supply of drinking water in Bhagalpur village through pipeline. e. To pay more attention towards development of education and health of the local people. f. To establish one Vocational training centre for technical education. At the end he requested the Govt. officials to see that their basic rights are not overlooked. 12. Smt Rajani Rani Naik, Chairman, Joda. While speaking in support of the proposal, she told that 90% of the people are in support of this expansion proposal. She told that it is an adivasi area but due to industrialization now a day s all agricultural land is being converted into mine and industry. She told it is true that without industrialization development is not possible. She was very much concerned about the revenue which mine owners are giving towards peripheral development fund is being spent in other cities instead of development of these areas which are mostly affected. Hence she urged the management for the followings: 1. To pay attention towards development of educational standards of local village schools and health of local people. 2. To give preference to local people during employment as per their eligibility so that they can maintain their family as there is no other source of income. 3. To inform every one about their land acquisition plan for this project.
4. De-siltation and protection of Balita Nalla.. 5. To carry out more developmental works in surrounding villages in consultation with local village committee. 6. Women tailoring centre has to be continued. 13. Sri Bagun Munda, Bhagalpur While delivering his views in support of the proposal, he requested the management for the followings: a. Electrification in Bhagalpur village and Electric bill has to be borne by the Company. b. To provide bore well in Bhagalpur village. c. Construction of one Club room in Bhagalpur- Mundasahi area in the name of Kusaleswar. d. To provide medical facility like dispensary and ambulance for local people at free of cost. e. To give preference to local people during employment. f. Early completion of construction of bridge over Bhagalpur check dam which is pending since last 3 months. g. Construction of 3 bathing ghats. h. Construction of one Vocational training centre like ITI and one computer centre for technical education. 14. Sri Binod Bihari Naik, Bhagalpur. He opposed the expansion proposal of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Limited. He told that till date management has not fulfilled their commitments like construction of Bhagalpur - Beleipada Black top road, arrangement of Street Lights in villages. Till now they have not declared their land acquisition plan to villagers and they are having any rehabilitation programme for the land losers. They can not take land from those who are having less than 5 acres of land. Hence they should stop construction of integrated steel plant. 15. Sri Bidyadhar Mohanta, Beleipada. He whole heartedly welcomed this expansion proposal of M/s Cracker India (Alloys) Limited. He told that this company has given 70% employment to the local people only. He informed the gatherings that Managing Director of this company, being a local Oriya entrepreneur will understand the problem of local people better and he expects that definitely he will take all the steps to solve these problems. He also told the gathering that it is a new company and just 3 years they have started production. However he asked the management to give first priority for development of Bhagalpur village. He also suggested the management to carry out all the developmental works with consultation of local village committee. He suggested the management that they should not limit to women tailoring centre but also to promote other cottage industries like, Candle plant, Incense sticks for self employment. He also requested the management to appoint some teachers in the school for improving the educational standards of the school.
At the end he told the gathering that Company has done sufficient developmental works in this short span of last 3 years, hence he supports this expansion proposal. The Panel has received 04 (four) nos. of written representation during the hearing, which is enclosed herewith in original. Observation: The overall opinion of the public about the expansion project was favourable. However the local people have some aspirations as laid down in their deliberations. Sri N. Mallick, Regional Officer, State Pollution control Board, Keonjhar & representative of State Pollution Control Board, Orissa prepared the summary of the public hearing proceedings accurately, reflecting the views and concerns expressed by the speakers with the inclusion of comments of the project proponent and read before the audience at the end of the proceedings explaining the contents in the Oriya language and the agreed minutes of public hearing meeting is prepared. The statement of issues and concerns of public with the comments of the project proponent is prepared in Oriya and English language is annexed separately. The President of Public Hearing meeting, Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung, Additional District Magistrate, Keonjhar ratified the minutes of meeting and with the views and demands of public. At the end Sri N. Mallick, Regional Officer, OSPCB, Keonjhar extend his vote of thanks to the public for rendering their co-operation for smooth operation of the public hearing. The meeting was ended with thanks to the chair. Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung, Addl. District Magistrate, Keonjhar (Presided and Supervised the Public Hearing Meeting) Sri Niranjan Mallick Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board, Keonjhar (Assisted as representative of State Pollution Control Board)
STATEMENT OF ISSUES AND DEMAND RAISED BY THE PUBLIC AND COMMITMENT OF THE PROJECT PROPONENT DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING MEETING HELD ON 29.09.09 AT 11 AM AT BHAGALPUR VILLAGE IN KEONJHAR DISTRICT IN RESPECT OF EXPANSION PROJECT OF INTEGRATED STEEL PLANT OF 1.0 MTPA AND CPP (WHRB 32 MW + AFBC 22 MW) OF 54 MW OF M/s. CRACKERS INDIA (ALLOYS) LTD. ISSUES RAISED BY PUBLIC The issues raised at the public hearing meeting are the following: Local Employment Rehabilitation & Compensation Environment pollution Protection of Balita Nalla Education Drinking water Vocational Training Centre Electrification COMMITMENT OF THE PROJECT PROPONENT Sri Sreenivas Sahoo, Managing Director of M/s Crackers India (Alloys) Ltd. who was present at the public hearing meeting, at the end addressed the gathering and gave his commitment to the issues and demands raised by the public are as mentioned below: 1. He told that they are always giving preference to local people during employment and he assured that in future also they will follow the same. He informed the gathering that in first phase they will employ 265 persons and in 2 nd phase they will absorb around 800 people. 2. He told that rehabilitation and compensation package will be decided after consulting with the committee consists of local people and administrative officials. 3. He told the gathering that they will take all the measures to minimise the pollution as they have mentioned in their representation. 4. He assured that he will speak to other mine owners of this area and will take all the steps for protection of Balita nalla. 5. Regarding other issues like Education, Drinking water, Vocational training centre, Electrification of villages etc, he told that they will carry out all the peripheral developmental works in consultation with the village committee. Sri Bijay Kumar Bilung, Addl. District Magistrate, Keonjhar Sri Niranjan Mallick Regional Officer, State Pollution Control Board,Keonjhar